More movie rumors (robot characters, alt modes etc.)

Discussion in 'Transformers Movie Discussion' started by Nevermore, Apr 27, 2006.

  1. Shipwreck

    Shipwreck Will smack your bitch

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    I didn't realize VW were such bitches.
     
  2. Spider Striker

    Spider Striker ThisGuyWithTheYellowCap

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    Not horrible. Not horrible at all. Though I do think they're missing a great opportunaty here. We got Brawl and Vortex (and did you guys mention Swindle? I missed him). Why not rename the Dev tank Onslaught? That way for teh sequel (if we get one), we can have Bruticus, which would make much more sense than Devestator. Military > construction
     
  3. Shin Densetsu

    Shin Densetsu I WILL DESTROY YOU Content Contributor Veteran

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    With that said, to me this movie has

    SUCK WRITTEN ALL OVER IT.

    I am just very cautiously pessimistic about this whole endeavor.


    If anything at least we know the toys will probably kick arse.
     
  4. Mister D

    Mister D Bloosh Compatible

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    If there had to be just five Autobots, I think these are the right five. With Decepticons, I don't think most of the characters really were defined well enough. Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave have always been the three "must haves", and they're here.

    I'm fine with most of the changes. Given the infiltration angle, a Decepticon police car works for me. Brawl may be an odd choice, but he's not what I would consider one of the sacrosanct characters.

    When I saw Brawl, Vortex and Bonecrusher, along with Devastator, I first hoped we'd see a small gestalt happening, but I guess not. I'm disappointed, but only slightly. New universe, new character, I'm moving on.

    Ironhide as a pick up? Sounds perfect. Now make it old, beat up, and rusty, and that's precisely how I've pictured the perfect Ironhide.

    Bumblebee not a VW? Understandable, if VW wouldn't give them the rights. Once that's out of their hands, I'm open to other alt modes. While there are certainly G1 'Bots I prefer, Bumblebee was always the human liason, and it wouldn't seem right to leave him out.


    Now Soundwave... he IS about as sacrosanct a character as you can have. If this is a Tiny Soundwave.... yeesh. But part of me figures this is what happens when fans whine so much they force the filmmaker to change his plans. You want a tape deck? Here ya go! Shame is this happens just as Cybertron has convinced most fans that a non-tapedeck SW is perfectly doable.
     
  5. Boo

    Boo Addicted to candy canes.

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    I don't know. Devestator as a tank sounds alright, I suppose... but I always liked the idea of him being a construction vehicle used to destroy stuff. I can deal with him being an individual, though, either way.

    And if they really have to have a Decepticon police car, Kickback is the only fitting name I can think of.

    The rest... meh. I can live. But i really do hate the whole "lets pay a lot of money to get the license of this property then arbitrarily change a lot of what made it popular in the first place" thing that seems to be going on...
     
  6. Shin Densetsu

    Shin Densetsu I WILL DESTROY YOU Content Contributor Veteran

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    EXACTLY
    That last paragraph is teh love man, its so true!
     
  7. Josh

    Josh Comic Color-guy

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    pff...no kidding man :banghead:  :( 
     
  8. Silver Bullit

    Silver Bullit Banned

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    That is, for those who can stomach Cybertron...

    SB
     
  9. LoserBroadside

    LoserBroadside Your ship just came in.

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    Oi. OK, first off and mainly, I was really really REALLY hoping this movie would be old school (as in pre-movie) and ignore the whole Matrix thing. I always hated it as it change Optimus Prime from a smart and brave leader into a magical superhero. I mean, the chosen one simply couldn't loose! Even in death Prime basically killed Megatron. Dumb dumb dumb. Takes all the tension and character out of it.

    So I assumed that the movie, being ya know, a peice of storytelling, would ignore that trap.

    I certainly didn't think they'd feel so strongly about keeping it that they'd contort it into an awkwardly named "Energon Cube of Leadership."

    LEAVE IT OUT! OPTIMUS PRIME IS NOT SUPERMAN! OPTIMUS PRIME IS NOT JESUS! OPTIMUS PRIME IS A SOLDIER!


    -LB is very very passionate about good storytelling.
     
  10. Golden Age

    Golden Age BATTLE BEAST

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    ...
     
  11. Hiro Prime

    Hiro Prime Cybertronian Guru Veteran

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    Ok... I'll bite and say that this is all on the level and these are the final players chosen for the movie. For those intrested, here's what I think. (what I think being in the [ ] brackets.)

    AUTOBOTS

    Optimus Prime (semi) [As expected, should look good despite the whole battle mask thing.]

    Ratchet (ambulance, not an emergency vehicle or firetruck) [The fans win one as we get the alt mode we want for the good doc.]

    Ironhide (pickup truck) [No problem since it'll make him bigger than the others, save for OP, and he's been a truck before. It works.]

    Jazz (sports car) [Good choice for the movie if they stick with his G1 personallity.]

    Bumblebee (Chevrolet Camaro, possibly a '70s/'80s model) [Now this is intresting, if the movie really is about a boy buying his first car, this would make sense. As for him changing from an old to new model car, that's very different. It sound like Hasbro wants to make a crapload of Bumblebee toys to me. If it's stupid that TF's can mass shift, how is this more believeable?]

    DECEPTICONS

    Megatron (tank, presumably) [As expected.]

    Starscream (F-22) [Again, as expected and a good choice.]

    Vortex (helicopter) [After hearing that Soundwave wasn't going to be a copter but a copter was going to be in the movie, this just made sense. Another good choice.]

    Soundwave (bastard version - a.k.a Kennywave) [This gets a BIG WTF! I thought this was a joke the first time I read it. This is even more stupid than the changing car models at will. They've taken a beloved character, one of the top 5 G1 bots and just made a joke out of it. Hasbro is going to get ALOT of crap if Soundwave is in the movie like this.] :Gouki: 

    Scorponok (minion) [It works for the scene it's suppose to be in and sets the stage for a big metal T-Rex for a sequel if made.]

    Brawl (police car) [I like the concept of the character but think they could have choosen a better name IMO. Tho I think most fans, who don't visit fan boards will be confused since just about every Police Car TF has been called Prowl and been a good guy. (excluding Beast Wars)]

    Devestator (tank) [Meh. It's a workable name for the character. I'd of went with Bludgeon or even Demolisher but I'm not writing the film.]

    Bonecrusher (Mine clearing vehicle) [Another meh. Hasbro's used Constructicon names for various other characters over the years so I don't care anymore. And if we already have a Devastator, then the likelyhood of a combiner has already been pitched out a window so there's no use crying over it.]

    All in all, it's a little better than I thought we would see for characters in the movie. Since this is an establishing film for a new audience, I like the idea of a small cast to start with. There will be plenty of time later for more characters in sequels if this film takes off at the box office.

    So like it or not, if this is our cast of bots, then I say we got better than we could have gotten. (that is except for Soundwave.) :puke: 
     
  12. Josh

    Josh Comic Color-guy

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    which makes ya kinda wonder

    how much pull does Hasbro even HAVE on this movie?

    we've heard Bay say before that the designs wont be blocky and that Hasbro is gonna *have* to make their toys according to whatever designs Bay & co. come up with

    sounds kinda iffy to me really...especially with all this "devastator is a single character who turns into a tank and soundwave is a 6 foot TF-midget"

    :\
     
  13. Sledgehammer

    Sledgehammer Ancient and knackered

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    Taking it all with a large pinch of salt...one the size of Gibraltar...
     
  14. Lord Of Tetris

    Lord Of Tetris Well-Known Member

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    I'm very sorry guys, I really am, but I don't think this movie is going to be any good. This seems like "Doom," or "Resident Evil" or "Catwoman."

    Take a property. Make a movie. These two don't necessarily have a correlation.

    You could've easily had Doom and Resident Evil switch their names with each other and it would've worked. This just doesn't seem like Transformers. It seems like a mix of War of the Worlds, Knight Rider, and Stealth.
     
  15. godsenddeath

    godsenddeath . TFW2005 Supporter

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    ***Shakes fist at a certain film***

    That one really annoys me. It's probably true as well.
     
  16. Feralstorm

    Feralstorm Good Morning, Weather Hackers! TFW2005 Supporter

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    There's the old saying - "I like to keep an open mind, but not so open my brain falls out."

    Assuming for the moment this info is close to true, it's pretty obvious that this is all going to be as much of a reboot/reimagining as any TF cartoon from RiD forward. I expect change of course, but there seem to be enough wierd liberties going on that potentially take this film anywhere from casual nostalgia to total WTF territory.

    In any case, it'll be hard for me to stay away from a Transformers movie, even if it's craptasticness has been proven as a factual constant. Still, a few things that would make me happier are the following:

    Bumblebee: - I can understand nor being able to use a VW alt-mode, (the 'Herbie' stuff doesn't give the audience enough credit IMO, however) but a Camaro, especially a time-morphing one (betcher ass that's a product placement deelie there) seems out of place for the 'bee. A small hatchback seems a good candidate to me, whether it be an old Civic or Hyundai Excel or Ford Festiva or something more modern, it would portray the 'style' of the character Volkswagon-free.

    "Brawl" - possible Prowl confusions aside for the moment, a 'con police car has possibilities, story-wise. I think there should be better names available though. Dip into the Stunticon or Micromaster pool if you have to.

    I can see we want a wider variety of military vehicles than the old G1 "Jets and household objects". I'd go with the others that have the idea that since so many Combaticon names and/or forms are being used anyway, to make the most of it. I'm not saying we need a combiner in the film. (after all, assuming we follow typical blockbuster film style, 99.9% of Decepticons will be dead at the end of this film anyway) I'd lose the Devastator name until a combiner is cleared for a sequel or some such.

    Scorponok - whatever - too obscure for the casual IMO.

    "Kennywave" - the whole 'tinfoil-bot' concept will have to be really cool to not be really stupid. I can see why people are balking at the Soundwave name being attached to this thing. If the concept is a given, one possibility would be to make him/it Rumble or Frenzy instead. The sense of scale might fit a little better, as well as any comedy a malleable 'bot might produce.

    "Energon Matrix Cube Whatever" - it depends on what role it actually plays in the film, I guess. I remember early words about the robots looking for it, having been lost on Earth for some reason. If it's just a goal object to be retrieved, they can call it pretty much whatever they want.

    I hope I like the final result more than I seem to now, if only because the movie has a distinct likelyhood of steering the direction of TF mainlines for up to the next few years after the fact.

    (Anyone get the feeling the "G1 Classics" line was made largely to take the edge off all the people who were expecting "G1-ness" out of the movie and its toys? :)  )
     
  17. PopCulturePooka

    PopCulturePooka Longest running avatar

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    Hahaha whiny fanboys.

    I think this sounds pretty f**king cool myself. Its a bit different. Something new. So they changed around the alt modes and names of some Cons that will likely do about as much as Toad and Sabertooth did in the X-men movie?

    Cry more.

    If, IF, Nevermores thing about ID4 is true (I doubt it personally) that may suck.

    But this?
    This is cool.

    The Autobots fit well, given the limitation on Bumblebee and whats known story wise. Lets see, he is being sold on a used car lot, by a dodgy car salesmen, to a teen boy.

    How many teen boys would buy a yellow beetle?

    Brawl as a cop car? Pretty cool sounding if they play his character up as some 'corrupt thug cop'.

    Devestator as a tank? You mean a vehicle associated with destruction and devestation has a name that evokes visions of destruction and devestation?
    AWW HELL NAH! So it aint so!

    Only thing that worries me is Soundwave. Of all the cons non fans remember its him, most peers I talk to speak fondly of 'that evil tape dude'. If they make him comedy relief that will confuse people.

    But the rest?

    Its cool.

    QQ noobs. LOL!
     
  18. The Phazer

    The Phazer Well-Known Member

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    Honestly, I think you're just plain wrong if you don't think Devastator has the same mainstream recognisability as Prime/Starscream/Megs et al.

    Phazer
     
  19. PopCulturePooka

    PopCulturePooka Longest running avatar

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    The image does, the idea does...
    The name? Not really.
     
  20. Thundercrackah

    Thundercrackah Well-Known Member

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    Just a few things that seem to have been missed :

    Bumblebee is supposedly mute and only communicates through songs he plays through his radio.

    Transformers arrive on earth in comets as big mounds of nanomachines which scan for alt modes upon arrival.

    This midget version of Soundwave IS NOT Soundwave anymore. They've changed it's name to Soundbyte.

    And for you fanboys with doubts, this has all come from the same people who told us the information you're already discussing here.